Jacobs scorches nets, Lakes in Hinkle Holiday Classic

Jacobs forward Reily Peliter passes the ball against Lakes on Saturday in their opening-round game of the Hinkle Holiday Classic at Jacobs.

ALGONQUIN – Jacobs’ Chrishawn Orange drained his first shot of the game and ended a 3-point drought after starting the season 0 for 12 beyond the arc.

It seems a bit early for a pivotal moment in a game, but perhaps it was not. That shot set the tone for the Golden Eagles’ best shooting performance this year.

Guard Ben Murray picked up with a pair of first-quarter 3s. Freshman forward Cameron Krutwig hit all five of his field-goal attempts inside as Jacobs burned the nets at a 66.7 percent clip and defeated Lakes, 67-51, in their Pool I opener of the Hinkle Holiday Classic on Saturday at the Eagles’ Nest.

“Early on we executed our offense really well,” Jacobs coach Jim Roberts said. “We ran some specials, we got good looks and we knocked those shots down. Chris Orange hit that 3 and really got us going. That kind of thing gets contagious.”

Jacobs (3-3 overall, 1-0 Pool I) won its third consecutive game by hitting 24 of 36 field goals, 13 of 17 in the first half.

“It was definitely our best shooting night, we were hitting outside shots today,” said Murray, who led all players with 20 points and three 3s. “It was a long time

coming. We had been getting open shots, but they weren’t falling. Tonight, they were.”

Orange scored 17 while Krutwig, who is 6-foot-5, grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists to go with his 10 points.

“We were moving the ball really well and getting open looks,” Krutwig said. “Chris was on fire. Ben was on fire. We’re playing really well. Coach [Roberts] tells us we have to compete and we’re doing that every night in practice.”

Jacobs built a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but Lakes (2-7, 0-1) cut it to 22-18 on David Milostain’s 3 at the buzzer.

“A big thing for us is handling adversity,” Roberts said. “I liked that when Lakes fought back, we came back and answered. Those are positive things.”

Jacobs kept a comfortable margin through the third quarter, then put the game away midway through the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run.

Milostain and Jacob Balliu led Lakes with 12 points each.

“[Jacobs] was lights out,” Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “They’re a good-shooting team and that’s been a big issue for us, knocking down shots. We have to avoid stretches where we don’t get stops and don’t score either.”